Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) said that
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order declaring June 9, instead of June 12
(Independence Day), as a non-working holiday, has trivialized the observance of
the event marking the birth of the Philippine republic.

Urging
Mrs. Arroyo to rectify the grievous error, Senator Pimentel assailed the
President’ penchant for transferring the observance of holidays to other dates
just to please certain sectors of society.

While acknowledging that there is a republic act that allows the President to
move the observance of certain holidays to other dates, the minority leader
said prudence dictates that a meaningful event such as Independence Day should
not be moved cavalierly as if it is a day to celebrate father’s or mother’s
day.

“Independence Day is the birthday of our country. Let us honor it as befits a
free people on the day we were born as a nation: June 12, and not any other
ill-conceived day that the ‘misgovernors’ in Malacañang fix for us,” he said.

Stressing that the President is cheapening the observance of Independence Day
by her ill-conceived act, Senator Pimentel called attention to the fact that
she has not and probably will not dare to transfer Christmas Day (December 25)
to December 20 or 29.

It may be said, according to the senator, that Independence Day on June 12 is
to Filipinos, the secular equivalent of December 25 birth of Jesus Christ to
the Christians of the world.

“If Christ was born on Dec. 25 on a mission to save the sinners in the five
continents of the world, the Republic was born on June 12 on a mission to unify
the Filipinos of all religious creeds, political persuasions and societal
standing into one democratic nation under the Rule of Law,” Mr. Pimentel said.

Senator Pimentel says that June 12 is, therefore, a holiday and a holy day to Filipinos, and
should not be cheapened by transferring the observance to another day this year
or next year or the future years.“If we have to sacrifice to celebrate it on that day, let us do so. The heroes
and the martyrs of our country did not shed their blood to enable us to attain
our independence – our birth as a nation – so that we can play around with it
and do with it as the President wishes,” Senator Pimentel added. # # #